[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]I just finished reading the book :pawprint: MARLEY AND ME:pawprint: by John Grogan and all I have to say is [B]WOW[/B]. It is an amazing book about "life with the world's worst dog".

Do yourself a favour and read it. It is funny, witty, sometimes sad, but forever a page turner. A truly inspiring book that makes you smile and realize that we could all take a little advice from our dogs and "live life to the fullest". :thumbs up [/SIZE][/FONT]

TMac

September 20th, 2006 11:11 PM

I've read it. It was a little weird for me because it felt like the author was living at our house!!! One of the best books I have ever read, for sure!
:thumbs up

Hunter's_owner

September 21st, 2006 07:17 AM

So glad you guys recommended it. I saw it in the book store last week, and I was asking everyone I knew if they heard of it, but no one had. So I was going to wait a while before getting it. Now that it has been recommended by fellow dog owners, I can't wait to start reading it myself. :dog:

phoenix

September 21st, 2006 07:59 AM

Be warned: Have lots of kleenex on hand. LOTS. I've never sobbed so much reading a book before.

joeysmama

September 21st, 2006 08:22 AM

I loved this book, but Phoenix is right. Don't attempt it without a full box of tissues. I think I might recomend it for our November book club.

Staciewells1

September 21st, 2006 08:27 AM

Wow- Really?

I think I might have read a different book. There were parts that I liked, but I just didn't like the author as a person. He kept bringing up the fact that Marley was "just a dog". And, near the end, when they went on vacation and left him in a kennel even though he was old and sick, I almost stopped reading it.
Don't get me wrong, I thought some of it was cute. I just thought that a book like this would be targeted toward dog lovers, and dog lovers never have to downplay dog-love!

Hunter's_owner

September 21st, 2006 08:50 AM

So is it really that sad????:eek:
I may have to reconsider reading it then :confused:

les

September 21st, 2006 09:10 AM

Staciewells1 - I totally agree with you. I HATED that book.

Basically, I found it about an owner who really didn't care much about his dog. He didn't care enough to bother to train it - he just made alot of excuses about it. Reminds me of people who have a dog and don't exercise it and are then surprised and upset that he's too wild in the house.

Thumbs down from me about that book.

phoenix

September 21st, 2006 11:47 AM

I partly agree. I didn't find myself liking the author either.

But I liked the dog :D

I thought that the things that Marley did were not "worst dog in the world" stuff, but pretty typical (except the storm anxiety part).

I was mad they went on vacation too. However I do know that MOST people don't feel about animals they way we do here on pets.ca, and that the author probably represents most people's attitudes to their pets. He was a pretty ineffectual owner/guardian/daddy to Marley IMO...

TMac

September 21st, 2006 05:49 PM

I just loved the dog! I didn't really analyze the owners actions since I was laughing too hard about Marley's silliness. :crazy:

Yes - the last chapter is sad, so if you aren't wanting to use up a whole kleenex box, then skip the last chapter.

ByronsMum

September 21st, 2006 10:23 PM

[QUOTE=Hunter's_owner]So is it really that sad????:eek:
I may have to reconsider reading it then :confused:[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Hunter's_owner, you should absolutely read it!!! It certainly is sad at the end, but still...an amazing read. And although some members may think that the author just didnt put in any effort into training Marley, I never doubted his (and his family's) love for the dog. :) [/SIZE][/FONT]

Hunter's_owner

September 22nd, 2006 08:49 AM

Thanks Byron'sMum. I think I will. I read the caption, and glanced through the book, and I laughed because a lot of what the dog did reminded me of Hunter when he was a puppy. Maybe its a lab thing, lol ;) .

susieqt

September 22nd, 2006 09:39 PM

I just finished reading the book; I really, really enjoyed it! It wasn't sad until the last chapter, as Marley grew older. I think the author did I perfect job of describing his dog, you can see that he really loved him.
Regarding him not "training" Marley properly, I think he did what he could. I had a dog like Marley once, and she wasn't very trainable, either.

TMac

September 22nd, 2006 11:13 PM

[QUOTE=susieqt] I think the author did I perfect job of describing his dog...[/QUOTE]

I agree - the book is about the dog and not the owner per se so you really can't focus on analyzing the owner if you want to enjoy the story. Most of the silly stuff (other than the storm fear) was exactly like my lab or my golden or both, so that's why I loved it so much!

HunterXHunter

September 25th, 2006 10:44 AM

There are parts that will just make you want to cry, but mostly it's funny and true. I read it soon after it made the NY Times best-sellers list...and maybe it's time I read it again...:thumbs up

Stewart

September 30th, 2006 04:27 AM

I bought the book over here at the beggining of August as that was its release here,I took in on holiday with me read it in 3 days between snorkeling which in the Maldives is great and the book was a great read!P.S. I must have read a different version because in my copy it said he left Marley with a work friend and then a vet while on vacation and the guy sure did love him as he does show constantly through understanding him and he even manages to keep him through his wifes depression when things must have been at a all time low!

snook

November 26th, 2006 07:37 AM

I haven't read the book yet, I'm afraid of being tainted by another author's writings as I also wrote a book about my Lab. My wife read the Marley book though and was not impressed. It can't be all that bad if a Lab is in it. :D

SnowDancer

November 26th, 2006 11:37 AM

I didn't really enjoy the book except for the parts focused on Marley. I think that the author devoted too many pages to discussing himself and his accomplishments. I think that perhaps a novella might have been a better way to go - than a hard cover book.

chocolatecoffee

November 26th, 2006 01:27 PM

[QUOTE=les;288516]Staciewells1 - I totally agree with you. I HATED that book.

Basically, I found it about an owner who really didn't care much about his dog. He didn't care enough to bother to train it - he just made alot of excuses about it. Reminds me of people who have a dog and don't exercise it and are then surprised and upset that he's too wild in the house.

Thumbs down from me about that book.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I couldn't believe when they left Marley in a kennel when he was sick, throughout the book it didn't seem like they really cared about him as much as I'd thought. I did find it well-written, but I wasn't terribly thrilled about the content, especially after all the good reviews I had read about it.

LynLyn

November 26th, 2006 01:35 PM

I liked the book, Marley was hilarious! As for the owner, he DID love the dog so much and never gave him up. He had the dog until the end of Marley's life, and Marley seemed happy, he may not have been the best owner on earth, but Marely didn't end up at the pound like some other dogs without the best owner's on earth.

Zloca19

May 14th, 2008 11:54 PM

[QUOTE=chocolatecoffee;324110]Agreed. I couldn't believe when they left Marley in a kennel when he was sick, throughout the book it didn't seem like they really cared about him as much as I'd thought. I did find it well-written, but I wasn't terribly thrilled about the content, especially after all the good reviews I had read about it.[/QUOTE]

i agree that i disagreed with marley's owner on a number of occasions but it didnt take away from marley's antics to me, simply because i know quite a few lab owners who made the effort that marley's owner didnt (and who would never leave their animals alone when they're sick) who still ended up with a "wild strain of lab". it's amusing to see all of their antics combined into one dog!

and i agree with whoever said that not all dog owners feel the same about their pets as we do on here.. a lot of people love their pets but see them as something less than us. its sad but true. my father is one of them, and watching him and my dog has lead me to believe that part of the problem is that the dog has basically trained my father - which my father realizes but doesnt want to put forth the effort to change, so he "puts things back in order" by stating "i'm not spending that much on a dog!" "he's just a dog!" etc. :rolleyes: